All of a sudden, the empty armor made a sound. The voice was so clear that it seemed full of life, which not only surprised Wu Hai to the core but also shocked Qin Cheng immensely.
Wu Hai wasnât able to see ghosts, so in his eyes, what stood in front of him was simply a stunning ancient armor belonging to a General. However, not only was this armor moving around, but it could also talk? Wu Hai couldnât help but think; â Maybe thereâs a ghost inside the armor, itâs just that I canât see it. â
After thinking this, Wu Hai whispered to Qin Cheng: âIs there a ghost inside this armor?â
Qin Cheng wiped the sweat falling on his forehead and shook his head: âNo, there doesnât seem to be any. Or at leastâŠ. I canât see a soul in the armor.â
â But then, where did that voice come fromâŠ..? â Wu Hai wanted to ask but stopped mid-way when he saw Qin Chengâs complicated expression. It appears that Qin Cheng didnât know either.
Wu Hai guessed right. Qin Cheng was also confused, after all, everything he knew about ghosts came from novels and TV. In reality, it hasnât been long since he had discovered that ghosts were living among them, so he doesnât understand anything about the underworld. Besides, the only kind of ghosts he came into contact with were fierce ghosts, and Su JingmoâŠ.so, how would he be able to know why this armor, which lacked a soul, was able to move and speak?
Qin Cheng didnât know that the armor in front of them, that could kill them at any given moment, wonât solve their doubts.
When the armor saw that the two of them hadnât replied, it approached them to step by step, making Qin Cheng and Wu Hai, who were aware of the danger, step back at the same time.
Until there was no way to retreatâŠ..
Qin Cheng didnât want to die, much less did he want to die in a place like this. At this moment, he wasnât able to think of a way to defeat this strange armor as a mere mortal. He could only think of a way to escape. But, how will they escape? The fire on the other side of the tomb passage hasnât been extinguished yet, and even though there were two doors on the southeast and northwest side of the chamber, Qin Cheng didnât know how the formation works. If they were to escape through those doors, he was afraid that itâll only lead to a catastrophe.
Moreover, the armor in front of them wouldnât give them enough time, or the opportunity, to escape.
The tormenting illusion they experienced a while ago shouldâve been cast by that armor. When you think about it, there was a great disparity between them and that armor in terms of strength.
So, what should they do to survive?!
The more Qin Cheng looked at the armor getting closer and closer, the more his mind turned chaotic. However, he had the feeling that there was a breakthrough, but he couldnât remember what it was!
His inner thoughts were roaring at him, telling him to think carefully. However, it seemed that this kind of roaring seemed to have a positive effect since Qin Cheng instantly thought of something.
Whether there was a ghost, or the armor has acquired a conscience, canât change the fact that it must be the person buried in this chamber. The General, whose rank wasnât high, was the same one who was mentioned on the murals of the tomb passage.
âNing-qing, courtesy name Wufei, was the third son of the Ning family, as well as a good General of XuâŠ. In the second year of Detian, he was appointed as a sub 8th rank Yuru Deputy Officer. In the seventh year of Detian, he was appointed as a sub 6th rank Zenwei Deputy Officer. In the tenth year of Detian, he was promoted to an upper 5th rank as Ningyuan GeneralâŠ. In the winter of the twelfth year of Detian, worshiped as the upper 5th rank Dingyuan General, he fought the Northern barbarians. He went beyond the upper valleyâŠ. to repel the Northern barbarians, but died in battle, and the barbarian King let the vultures eat his corpseâŠ..â
As the contents of the tomb passage appeared in his mind, Qin Chengâs heart thumped slightly. A large number of weapons were buried in a burial pit in Su Jingmoâs tomb, but the character âNingâ was engraved in all of them. When Su Jingmo talked about that person, he didnât seem to give much importance to him, so Qin Cheng could see that Su Jingmo wasnât too concerned about this person, or knew him very well.
Su Jingmo may not know him, but this man must know Su Jingmo. Because the Emperor he followed was Su Jingmoâs fifth brother. Itâs impossible to know whether the one buried in the main chamber is Su Jingyan or notâŠ..
Suddenly Qin Cheng had an ideaâŠ.
When he saw that the armorâs hand was rising, about to stab them with that sharp weapon, Qin Cheng stopped thinking. As he pretended to be indifferent, he began to smile, copied Su Jingmoâs tone, and blurted out loudly: âThird son of the Ning family, Ning-qing, even though a thousand years have passed, it feels like itâs only been a moment. But, after all this time, youâre still Zhenâs fifth brotherâs guardian dog.â
With a sneering tone of voice, Qin Cheng told a fact from thousands of years ago. After spending so much time alone with Su Jingmo, Qin Cheng knew more or less how Su Jingmoâs temperament was. He seemed to speak gently, as his face showed a smiling expression, but in fact, his words could stab someone to death.
This was also the first time Qin Cheng has ever imitated Su Jingmoâs way of speaking. Although it wasnât shown on his face, Qin Cheng didnât know if he had done a good job imitating him, and whether he would be exposed by the armor standing in front of him.
Qin Chengâs sudden change frightened Wu Hai to death. â Whatâs going on?! Did he get possessed?! â
There was no time for Qin Cheng to explain to Wu Hai in detail, so when he saw Wu Hai looking at him with an astonished expression, Qin Cheng could only make a silent gesture to him, indicating Wu Hai to stay quiet.
Sure enough, the Generalâs armor stopped moving the moment he heard this, evidently hesitating whether to put down his raised hand or not.
âWho are you?â There were only four people who could refer to that man as âfifth brotherâ, but this person was speaking with a smiling face and a flirtatious tone. This tone of voice, this way of speaking⊠Although the speech was a little odd, Ning-qing was only able to think about that Mighty man who could shake the whole world; the one who recaptured the mountains and rivers of the northwest, the great Emperor of the Xu DynastyâŠ. Su Jingmo.
However, he wasnât sure. It has been 1600 years, so it would be impossible for Su Jingmo to remember what happened at that time if he was reincarnated. Besides, the man in front of him not only looked nothing like Su Jingmo, but he was also talking without Su Jingmoâs natural speech. Although Su Jingmo could be conceitedâŠ.. No matter what, this man couldnât be that Emperor.
After seeing that the General wasnât moving anymore, Qin Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that his disguise had some effect on him.
However, his breath wasnât completely relieved. Because right the next moment, the General armor said something that made Qin Cheng extremely furious.
âYouâre not Emperor Yingde Wu. Not only you donât resemble him, but even if you say that you were reincarnated, that would be impossible. As far as I know, Emperor Yingde Wu canât reincarnate.â
The words stating the truth fell on Qin Chengâs ears like thunder, exploding inside his ears, and sending a great roar into his brain.
â Canât reincarnate? What does this General mean? How does he know that Su Jingmo canât reincarnate? And how can he be so sure that there hasnât been a single change for thousands of years?! â
Thereâs only one possible answer. The only one who could do something to the Imperial Mausoleum of the previous Emperor, and bury the Emperor there, is the Emperor who ascended the throne afterward. Meaning that the Imperial Mausoleum, in which Su Jingmo has been buried, was chosen by that Emperor. Moreover, even the formation that has trapped his soul for thousands of years was deliberately made by that person!
Although he had speculated this before, actually hearing it in person made Qin Cheng even more furious!
Su Jingmo has been trapped for 1600 years! He canât reincarnate, let alone go to the underworld. Even if he wanted to let his soul disappear, he was also unable to do so. For more than a thousand yearsâŠ. he never had contact with the outside world, and he was completely unable to leave that small piece of the world. Even if heâs a ghost, the mere thought of Su Jingmo staying in that gloomy mausoleum on his own, forever having to stay in the residence of his death, made Qin Cheng feel unbearable pain in his heart. As the heartache spread, blinding Qin Chengâs consciousness, the monstrous fury he felt burned out all the reason he had left!
The unpleasant expression, and the obvious anger, appeared on his usual indifferent face. Then, Qin Cheng stepped forward, shortening the distance between him and the General.
As he faced the empty armor, Qin Cheng screamed out loud: âWho buried Su Jingmo in that place? Why did he have to keep Su Jingmo imprisoned inside that gloomy place for 1600 years?!!!â
Qin Chengâs emotions were too strong. His sudden anger stunned Ning-qing for a moment.
He was a General when he was alive. Before the late Emperor passed away, the most beloved General, by many Officers and soldiers in Great Xu, was the then third Prince Su Jingmo.
Su Jingmoâs knowledge of dispatching troops and condemning guilty Generals was something that every General of the Xu Dynasty had to obey. He was also the first Prince of the Xu Dynasty to establish military achievements and become a Wang. Even Ning-qing, who was in a different camp, respected Su Jingmo.
He was intelligent and talented. Even though he was also known for being flirtatiousâŠ. he was indeed the most suitable one to become the EmperorâŠ.. compared with that man, who was obsessed with power, Su Jingmo accomplished many things for Great Xu during his reign.
If it werenât for the dilemma Su Jingmo got involved in, that man would have never been able to win the throneâŠ.
Thereâs no room for two tigers in one mountain. In the same era, two men who were destined to become Emperors appeared at the same time, which inevitably caused great turmoil.
It was a prosperous time, but it was also filled with chaosâŠ.
However, in the beginning, when he was in the camp of the fifth Prince, that man had been looking for Su Jingmoâs weakness. The fifth Prince was good at playing with power, and Ning-qing was the one who was sent to investigate Su Jingmo in secret. Ning-qing was sure that he had never seen the man in front of him before.
And yet, this man became so angry that even his eyes were filled with hatred. This look was quite familiar to Ning-qing, so he naturally guessed what kind of emotions this man had for Su Jingmo.
Why make such a decision? Such a question, Ning-qing couldnât answer.
âWhen Emperor Yingde Wu was defeated, His Majestyâs way of handling it was also opposed by the people who were familiar with the situation.â Of course, even Ning-qing opposed it. âButâŠ. maybe His Majesty had some reasons as to why he had to do it this wayâŠ.â
Although Ning-qing didnât know who the man in front of him was, at least, he was aware of the Xu Dynasty.
Ning-qing knows what happened before he died, but he wasnât aware of what happened after his deathâŠ..
This changed Ning-qingâs original plans. He decided to not take this manâs life for the time beingâŠ.
However, Qin Cheng didnât know what the General was thinking about, and he couldnât bear to hear such words coming from him.
âHaha.â Qin Cheng sneered. âWhy? For what reason would he do such a thing? Is he not afraid that after a thousand years, the next Emperor would do the exact same thing to him?!â In a rage, Qin Cheng even forgot how dangerous the armor in front of him was. As he took another step forward, he continued: âIf thereâs a cycle of Karma, Su Jingyan would never obtain anything good!â
This remark seemed to have offended the General. As soon as he heard those words, the once calm armor suddenly glowed brightly: âYouâre seeking death!â
âQin Cheng! Get away from him!â
âDonât touch him!â
Two people shouted at the same time. Wu Hai was forced back by the strange light, so he couldnât get close to Qin Cheng. However, at that instant, the other person flew over Qin Cheng and helped him dodge the bright light that was strong enough to burn anything to death.
-The author has something to say-
Thereâs not a third party involved between Qin Cheng and Su Jingmo. After all, a human x ghost relationship is already sad enoughâŠ.
Qin Cheng and Su Jingmo have some kind of affection for each other that they arenât allowed to feel, an affection that shouldnât turn intoâŠ. a kind of relationshipâŠ.rightâŠ.?